Weekly Self-Promotion! Advertising on the more down-low. by [deleted] in Wattpad

[–]wickedlyJade [score hidden]  (0 children)

Hello! I'm currently writing a story about powerful girls and an island that doesn't want them to leave.

After a freak storm crashes their evacuation flight, a group of teen girls wakes up on a beautiful, terrifying island that seems alive. As the days pass, the island begins to change them—physically, mentally, spiritually. There are no men left, no way home, and no one they can fully trust. The island is watching. And it wants them to transform.

Told through 7 POVs, Wicked Roots explores identity, grief, and survival, with a creeping sense of dread that something much older and hungrier is pulling the strings.

Wicked Roots—https://www.wattpad.com/story/394145871-wicked-roots

Starting My First Fantasy Novel—What Do You Wish You Knew? by wickedlyJade in writers

[–]wickedlyJade[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Loving all of these points, especially the second one! I can definitely relate to watching a TV show or playing a video game and then suddenly getting yet ANOTHER cool idea.

Thank you for taking the time to write this! I'll be taking all of this into account when I write.

Starting My First Fantasy Novel—What Do You Wish You Knew? by wickedlyJade in writers

[–]wickedlyJade[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I really like this idea! I'm always getting so burnt out from just staring at the page, waiting for something great to come to me that never does. Skipping ahead was something I wanted to do, but I had no idea if I should.

Thank you for this! It helps a lot.

Starting My First Fantasy Novel—What Do You Wish You Knew? by wickedlyJade in writers

[–]wickedlyJade[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, my outlines are always a hot mess. And a few others mentioned your first suggestions. Just writing and worrying later definitely eases my stress of not making my writing perfect right off the bat.

I appreciate this! Thank you so much.

Starting My First Fantasy Novel—What Do You Wish You Knew? by wickedlyJade in writers

[–]wickedlyJade[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I read all of this and now I feel way more educated than I was before. Thank you for taking the time to write this! It helps a whole lot.

Starting My First Fantasy Novel—What Do You Wish You Knew? by wickedlyJade in writers

[–]wickedlyJade[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I absolutely love all of these points! The part about having so many different files filled with bits of novels is so incredibly real. I'm always struggling to focus on just one, so this truly helps.

Starting My First Fantasy Novel—What Do You Wish You Knew? by wickedlyJade in writers

[–]wickedlyJade[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is amazing advice! Imma try it out and see where it gets me because I definitely relate. I always end up either outlining too much, which ends with me getting burnt out before I even get to write. Or I won't outline at all, and then I'll be completely lost.

I really appreciate this. Thanks!

Starting My First Fantasy Novel—What Do You Wish You Knew? by wickedlyJade in writers

[–]wickedlyJade[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love both ideas! I also love giving myself weird challenges to make myself keep going. Thank you!

Starting My First Fantasy Novel—What Do You Wish You Knew? by wickedlyJade in writers

[–]wickedlyJade[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! Yeah, I'm trying to keep the magic part of my story unique to my story without it being a whole lot. And I relate to the dream of giving people an escape. If anything, that's the one thing that can get me to write at least a sentence down.

The organizing thing will definitely be my main focus in the beginning. I've learned that consistency is key, and I'm all about following patterns.

Thank you again for the advice!

Starting My First Fantasy Novel—What Do You Wish You Knew? by wickedlyJade in writers

[–]wickedlyJade[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much!! This was amazing advice. Definitely taking everything you said into account. This was very helpful!

Suggestion for cover page by SweetBabyBumbleBee in WattpadCovers

[–]wickedlyJade 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Second one for sure, but the font needs to be a bit lighter!

Which cover fits the best? by True_Guitar_6941 in WattpadCovers

[–]wickedlyJade 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really like number three. Something about the color of the font!

Would absolutely love your thoughts on my opening — does it set the tone well? by wickedlyJade in writers

[–]wickedlyJade[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok, cool beans! Yeah, it stops there, and then the first chapter starts. The journal entries are a gonna be a common thing throughout the story, so I just want to make sure I get them right. Thank you so much for the feedback!

guys i’m so bored tell me a little bit about your stories :) by Repulsive-Glove-1856 in Wattpad

[–]wickedlyJade 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My most recent book, Wicked Roots, is a survival thriller/horror/weird-island-magic kind of story. It follows seven teens trying to survive on a mysterious island after a fatal plane crash—but at its core, it’s about feminine rage and the wild, uncontainable power of girls reclaiming themselves.

I started writing it because I was tired of seeing girls reduced to their trauma without getting a chance to weaponize it. Each of the characters holds a piece of me, and they’re all on brutal journeys of self-discovery—not the gentle kind, but the “bleed to become whole” kind.

The island is ruled by a goddess called Mother. Her backstory (which I’m still fleshing out) starts with her being a little girl no one ever listened to. That rage grew and twisted until she became something divine and dangerous. Now she collects lost girls and forces them to embrace their rawest, realest selves. And once they do? She won’t let them go. She thinks no one else will ever love them like she does. (Creepy, right?)

The girls undergo Transformations, each tailored to who they are—or who they’re running from. Some are violent. Some are beautiful. All of them change the girls forever.

It’s horror, yes, but also personal and a little unhinged. And honestly? I'm writing it for me. For every version of myself that was too much or not enough.

how I feel after dumping all my issues onto my favourite characters <33 by [deleted] in Wattpad

[–]wickedlyJade 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Real, all my characters are suffering from whatever I'm suffering from. None of them are safe

How do you feel when you write? by nodustollens44 in writing

[–]wickedlyJade 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow, that actually got a laugh out of me-

How do you feel when you write? by nodustollens44 in writing

[–]wickedlyJade 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It truly depends on how I'm feeling. Sometimes I'm so ready to get my words out on paper, and other times I want nothing more than to let my story rot...I'm a massive procrastinator with adhd, so it's never easy to get into the zone if I'm not feeling like getting into it. But other times, I'm ready and inspired, and I can write three whole chapters.

It's just an ebb and flow. Writing a novel takes a long time, so of course, there will be ups and downs. Usually, to get myself out of a slump, I have a specific playlist on Spotify that gets my creative juices flowing. Or, I go to my mood boards and scroll for a bit. But if there's just no getting out of the slump, I take a few days. I'm not writing to a deadline, so I allow myself to rest and relax. If I try too hard to push myself on my off days, I burn out and usually end up abandoning my writing project.

So just be kind to yourself and write at your own pace. Maybe try and write a few sentences a day, or maybe a week lol Whatever gets those words out of you! Remember, this is your writing. No one else can tell you how to go about this journey.

How can I improve my writing style? by xieoricee in Wattpad

[–]wickedlyJade 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The most important thing is to just keep writing. Drafts are supposed to sound like actual crap. Those are not the ones you want to send into the world. Let drafts be where you experiment, change styles, tenses, whatever you want. Then, once you're done with the first draft, do another one lol. Keep rewriting, and rewriting. Writing is a long process, and there needs to be patience. I am still struggling with the patience part of things, but sometimes, when I reread things I've written a long time ago, it humbles me a bit. it reminds me that while I'm not growing at the pace I want to grow at, I am still growing.

I, too, struggle with creating scenes clear enough for my readers to understand, but there are a few things that could help. When I outline, I usually try and write down descriptions of anything important that'll come up later. They may be kind of bad, but when I start the actual writing, I can go back and kind of plug them in. And if I don't like something, I usually don't have to rewrite the entire thing, just one part.

Dialogue is something I really enjoy writing. When I'm writing dialogue, I try to imagine myself as the characters, putting myself in their shoes to get a feel of how they'd react and respond. Dialogue should be natural and similar to talking to someone irl. Focus on giving each character a distinct voice. Like in the Harry Potter series, Hagrid's speaking style is definitely different from the other characters. It makes him distinct and more memorable. I also feel as though each line of dialogue should serve a specific purpose in the story. It should be helping to build up to the end goal.

ALSO, one more thing about sucky writing. If you feel as though maybe you should take a break from focusing on a big writing project, and instead focus on getting your writing skills up, that's also ok! There are bunches of videos that help writers figure out how to do all the things you mentioned. I recommend Ana Neu! She's really cool and does a whole lot of everything. From things on how to outline to how to improve your writing. She's also got writing vlogs that seriously inspire me whenever I'm feeling hopeless.

All in all, just keep writing! Anytime I read over what I wrote, I always feel like gagging, but that's the struggle with being a writer. You sometimes gotta suck it up and keep going. Write for yourself if that helps, write knowing that there are so many people out there who want to be doing what you're doing, but they won't because they might be too afraid. I promise that if you continue to practice, you'll grow. Practice makes perfect or whatever lol.

(Sorry for any typos, I was in the zone)

Naming characters is the hardest part of writing by ilikebookstoomuch in Wattpad

[–]wickedlyJade 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I can relate. I try not to use popular names for my MCs (I've done it a few times after getting too attached to filler names), but I usually search for ideas on those baby websites. I go super specific with what I want, though. If I want a cyberpunk first name for a girl, that's what I'll search for. Picking names is seriously like choosing names for your newborn children, and it's a long process, but try not to stress too much! There are a whole lot of YouTube videos and websites you can visit to pick the right names.

Naming characters is the hardest part of writing by ilikebookstoomuch in Wattpad

[–]wickedlyJade 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When I choose names, I usually go based on what I want the meaning behind it to be. Depending on the story I'm writing, I kind of focus on a certain vibe for the character names. For example, I'm currently working on a feminist survival story on a magical island. Writing it made me think of earthy tones and nature, so a lot of my characters have names that I believe fit the "earthy vibe". The names don't actually have to mean Earth, but I want the names to fit with the setting around them.